text: Unlike most other commodity plastics polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is able to absorb the near ultraviolet rays in sunlight. Absorption begins at 360 nm, becoming stronger below 320 nm and is very significant below 300 nm. Despite this PET has better resistance to photo-oxidation than other commodity plastics, this is due to a poor quantum yield or the absorption. The degradation chemistry is complicated due to simultaneous photodissociation (i.e. not involving oxygen) and photo-oxidation reactions of both the aromatic and aliphatic parts of the molecule. Chain scission is the dominant process, with chain branching and the formation of coloured impurities being less common. Carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and carboxylic acids are the main products.
  The photo-oxidation of other linear polyesters such as polybutylene terephthalate and polyethylene naphthalate proceeds similarly. 
  Photodissociation involves the formation of an excited terephthalic acid unit which undergoes Norrish reactions. The type I reaction dominates, which cause chain scission at the carbonyl unit to give a range of products.
  Type II Norrish reactions are less common but give rise to acetaldehyde by way of vinyl alcohol esters. This has an exceedingly low odour and taste threshold and can cause an off-taste in bottled water.
  Radicals formed by photolysis may initiate the photo-oxidation in PET. Photo-oxidation of the aromatic terephthalic acid core results in its step-wise oxidation to 2,5-dihydroxyterephthalic acid. The photo-oxidation process at aliphatic sites is similar to that seen for polyolefins, with the formation of hydroperoxide species eventually leading to beta-scission of the polymer chain.